James A. Walker

Military Career: James Wadell “Jess” Johnson is a US Army retired multi-decorated Master Sargent with 25 years service. Including: Combat Med., Airborn and Special Forces. Served with the 501st and the 101st Airborn in PhuBai, Vietnam. Was assigned to the JFK Special Warfare Center at Ft. Bragg, NC as a “Weapons Specialist. He is combat decorated with: a Bronz Star, Purple Heart, Air Medal, Army Accommodation Medal, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, and a Special Forces Tab. In 1999 Jess retired from active duty with rank of “Master Sargent” - The highest rank attainable for an enlisted soldier in the US Army.

Private Sector: Leveraging his vast international network of command military and geo-political leaders, Jess launched a private consultancy specializing in Military and Economic advisory. Jess’ client base extends from Asia, to The Middle East up to Europe, and down to multiple African and Sub-Saharan nations. Ret. MSGT Johnson is a regular special guest as a Military Adviser to: FOX News and can be heard on Charlie Jones “Overnight” KRLD CBS Radio 0180 AM where he offers unique and experienced commentary on past and current US and other military occupations from around the Globe

VET to VET: Veteran Advocacy In Christmas of1994 Jess and Wife, Peggy Johnson visited and distributed hamburgers and coffee thermoses to patients at the Dallas VA Hospital. Their generosity was warmly received but, the Johnsons soon discovered that the need at the VA far exceeded their current ability to provide gifts for all the hundreds of VA patients.

They returned the next day with thermoses for the others. It was then decided to create what is now “VET to VET” a registered non-profit organization. From it’s inception in Dallas, Vet to Vet has now expanded their operation to include the Bonham, Waco, and Temple VA hospitals.

Vet to Vet now provides 4,000 gifts to 1,600 patients each Christmas, as well as hosting monthly bingo games and barbecues throughout the year.

Vet to Vet hosts fundraisers to support Texas VA hospitals and would like to open a chapter in all 162 VA hospitals across the country. Additionally, the organization is building homes on land near VA hospitals that will accommodate veterans and their families free of charge during their rehabilitation.

Jess is a Graduate with a Bachelor’s of Arts from Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. ￼￼￼￼￼

Demographics of homeless veterans "The Forgotten Americans-Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve" – released Dec. 8, 1999, by the U.S. Interagency Council on the Homeless (USICH) – is the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (NSHAPC), which was completed in 1996 and updated three years later. You can download the NSHAPC reports at www.huduser.org.

Veteran-specific highlights from the USICH report include:23% of the homeless population are veterans 33% of the male homeless population are veterans 47% served Vietnam-era 17% served post-Vietnam 15% served pre-Vietnam 67% served three or more years 33% were stationed in war zone 25% have used VA homeless services 85% completed high school/GED, compared to 56% of non-veterans 89% received an honorable discharge 79% reside in central cities 16% reside in suburban areas 5% reside in rural areas 76% experience alcohol, drug or mental health problems 46% are white males, compared to 34% of non-veterans 46% are age 45 or older, compared to 20% non-veterans

Service needs cited include:45% need help finding a job37% need help finding housing

How many homeless veterans are there?Accurate numbers community-by-community are not available. Some communities do annual counts; others do an estimate based on a variety of factors. Contact the closest VA medical center's homeless coordinator, the office of your mayor, or another presiding official to get local information. A regional breakdown of numbers of homeless veterans, using data from VA's 2009 CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups) report – which contains the most widely cited estimate of the number of homeless veterans – can be